Conference of Ms Viviane Michel
President of Quebec Native Women (FAQ)
and Ms Manon Barbeau, Director and
Founder of Wapikoni Mobile

Wednesday, 5 March 2014
From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. - Room IX

"Native Women of Quebec : Between Art and Activism"

Viviane Michel is from Mani Utenam. She has been involved for over 10 years in FAQ , first as Director of the Innu Nation and then as Vice- President of the Association from 2010 to 2012 .
 
Bilingual in French and Innu , Viviane Michel is a woman of tradition who  makes a point of showcasing the traditional practices of her nation and of promoting respect for the identity and culture of nations and indigenous women.
 
Her career as a speaker for the shelter for Aboriginal women Missinak in Quebec  led her to be familiar with issues related to Aboriginal women.

Moreover, she was a member of the board of the Network of shelters for Aboriginal women in Quebec coordinated by FAQ which developed many tools to adapt the services offered to the cultural realities of Native women.

She also worked as a carer for survivors of Native boarding schools, supporting their healing process and their claims for indemnities from the independent evaluation process.

Viviane Michel was elected President of Quebec Native Women in October 2012.

For more information : http://www.faq-qnw.org/

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The Conference will also include a presentation by Ms Manon Barbeau, Director and Founder of "Wapikoni Mobile".

For over thirty years, Manon Barbeau worked as a writer and director for several organizations.

In 2004, Manon Barbeau creates the Wapikoni mobile with the help of the Atikamekw Nation Council (Conseil de la Nation Atikamekw) and the First Nations Youth Council of Quebec and Labrador (Conseil des jeunes des Premières Nations du Québec et du Labrador).

For more information : http://www.wapikoni.ca/home

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FOR THOSE WHO WERE ABSENT :

During the conference on the indigenous populations of Quebec, Viviane Michel, President of the Native Women of Quebec, presented her association and its goals. The association works in key areas such as health, justice, the environment and sustainable development, and prevention of violence against women, and as Mme Michel reported, the battles to be fought in these areas are still numerous. However, Viviane Michel remains optimistic and puts forward a unifying message underlining “the right to life in all its differences”. She argues that “the most important thing is the meeting” between these different lives. People must learn to work together to better understand each other and to live together better. She emphasized the important role of women who “are a real step ahead in terms of activism”, but said that men’s actions should never be excluded. Young people are vital because “we can still awake their consciences which will be our greatest victory”.

 Manon Barbeau shared the story of her mobile recording studios, the “Wapikoni Mobile”, which has more than 600 films and 80 awards to its credit. In addition to developing artistic and technical skills among Aboriginal youth, Wapikoni Mobile helps to strengthen the intergenerational links within Aboriginal communities, and to ensure that culture and traditions are passed down from one generation to the next. The films they produce are also a vital tool to communicate and interact with the outside world: “The films serve as ambassadors for the young people of the First Nations and help them to make themselves known to the outside world, to make their voices heard, and to create networks”.

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